Typically, beverages such as soda or beer are packaged in groups of six, twelve or twenty-four containers. If no refrigeration source is available, the beverages have to be consumed at the environmental temperature in which they are stored. The most common means for chilling such beverages is to place them in portable coolers, or to place them within refrigeration units.
A number of prior art devices exist which are intended to provide a package which is able to accept ice or other cooling means in order to chill beverages in the package without having to use a separate cooling source. Thus, the beverages can be directly chilled without having to use a refrigeration unit or a portable cooler.
One example of a reference disclosing an expandable package to accommodate ice includes the U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,727. The package further includes drain holes which allow for drainage of any fluids which condense on the beverages or which leak from the beverages during shipment and handling. The package is lined with a waterproof or water resistant material to provide a means to prevent or substantially reduce leakage of liquids from within the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,923 discloses a cooler container for packaging a plurality of multiple articles such as cans or bottles. The container has a top portion designed to receive a quantity of bulk ice which may be placed in contact with the multiple articles. In operation, side and end flaps are pulled up and form an upper waterproof well area which retains the bulk ice. The well area is situated on top of the multiple articles which are packaged in a lower waterproof compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,337 discloses a combination ice package and expandable cooler. This reference shows a box-type receptacle with an extendable upper portion consisting of folded cardboard flaps. The upper portion further includes expandable top flaps which fold to form a top seal through the use of frictional engagement offset notches. Circular access layers are formed in the upper portion enabling drinks to be inserted and recooled while being consumed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,359 discloses a combination packaging/shipping carton and ice bucket. This carton expands to be used as an ice bucket, in addition to its primary function of being a packaging carton for containers. The carton includes triangular webs which move from an abutting position to an inline position during forming of the carton to be used as the ice bucket. Side and end panels of the carton have foldable flaps which enclose the carton chamber to the environment. When the foldable flaps are moved away from each other to assume an inline position, the container is open to the environment, thus increasing the size of the container to permit usage of the carton as an ice bucket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,863 discloses a beverage carton with an integral cooler bin. The carton includes a plurality of panels in a stacked relationship which, when unfolded, form an ice bin which is connectable to the top portion of the compartment of the carton. Ice is poured into the bin formed by the unfolded panels, and cans are cooled by direct contact with the ice.
While the foregoing inventions may be adequate for their intended purposes, each have certain disadvantages which are common to the prior art in general. One prominent disadvantage in many of the prior art inventions is that the cartons or packages are structurally complex, and are, therefore, expensive to manufacture. Additionally, although many prior art devices are structurally complex, they are not configured in a reinforced manner to hold ice or water for long periods of time. Another disadvantage of prior art devices is that cooled water from melted ice is allowed to drain away from the package, which minimizes the cooling effect of melted ice. Each of these disadvantages are overcome with the carton of this invention.